English Vs India: Five Lowest Totals of Team India on English Soil in Test Cricket

Team India batters struggling in overcast conditions and on seaming pitches in England is not a new story as this has been the case throughout the history. This time it was no different as they have struggled in all the three innings so far except Virat Kohli. There are several lowest totals of Team India on English soil over the past years in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, many former cricketers and experts were of the view that these visiting teams have the capability to beat the side like Three Lions.

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However, history repeated as the English seamers skittled India’s batting in the two Tests so far. Only Virat Kohli has managed to put on some resistance; otherwise, it has been a one-way story

The likes of swing sensation James Anderson and Chris Woakes have posed the tough questions, of which Indian batsmen had no answer whatsoever.

Anderson was spectacular in both the Tests despite being on the wrong side of the age. The visiting team somehow managed to cross the 100-run mark, thus avoiding another humiliation of registering the lowest totals.

Let us take a look at the five lowest totals of Team India on English soil in Test cricket:

42 at Lord’s in 1974:

It was the second Test of the tour when England batsmen posted a massive 629 runs on the board against a formidable Indian attack.

However, Indian openers Farook Engineer and Sunil Gavaskar provided their team with a good opening stand. However, a middle-order collapse ensured that they were forced to follow-on by the England skipper.

Nobody expected that much horror was in store for the touring Indian team. They registered their lowest-ever score of 42 in Test cricket in the second innings at Lord’s.

Only one Indian batter managed to touch the two-digit mark while Chris Old and Geoff Arnold bulldozed the Indian innings.

Eknath Solkar was the highest scorer for India with 18 runs as India lost the match by an innings and 285 runs. Furthermore, they suffered a whitewash losing all the Tests in the three-match series.

58 at Manchester in 1952:

It was one of the most horrific Test matches for India in their history as they struggled to get past 100 in both the innings. It was the third Test of the tour when England declared their innings on 347 runs in the first essay.

Indian batting had some talismanic run-scorer, and it was not a huge target. However, England bowlers had some other plans. Fred Trueman single-handedly dismantled the India batting while picking eight wickets and eventually finishing with nine in that match.

Only two batsmen managed to offer some resistance touching the two-digit score but for others, it was a tough task. India suffered another setback in the second innings only to lose that match by an innings and 207 runs.

82 at Manchester in 1952:

After horrific first innings in reply to England’s 347, India could only manage to score 24 runs more in the second essay. Some top-class bowling from the English seamers made the life of Indian batters tough.

After a magical spell from Fred Trueman in the first innings, it was Alec Bedser and Tony Lock in the second. Beder bagged a five-for while Lock returned with a four-wicket haul to skittle India for a mere 82 runs.

There were changes in the India batting unit as they had no clue to the England seamer. Hemu Adhikari topped the score chart with 27 runs only to lose the match by an innings and 207 runs.

The team from the subcontinent eventually lost the four-match series by a margin of 3-0 with only draw coming at the Oval.

92 in Birmingham in 1967:

In was the third Test of the tour under the leadership of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi at Birmingham. Host England posted 298 runs in their first innings, however, India had the worst possible start in their reply.

India struggled to put any resistance on a challenging English wicket as they lost wickets on a regular basis. However, some double-digit scores from the middle-order ensured that they don’t finish within 50 runs.

David Brown and Robin Hobbs picked three wickets each while, John Snow and Ray Illingworth bagged two each.

Farook Engineer was the highest scorer with 23 as Indian batsmen managed to last only 36.3 overs.

Eventually, India lost the match by 132 runs and suffered a humiliating whitewash.

93 at Lord’s in 1936:

It was the first Test of the 1936 tour to England-led by Maharajah of Vizianagram. Despite a taking the all-important lead of 13 runs, in the beginning, Indian batsmen faltered against the experienced English quicks.

There were no partnerships at all as India managed to put only 93 runs, losing the match by nine wickets. Only three batsmen managed to register two digit scores with the highest score of 17 by Dattaram Hindlekar.

The England bowlers stamped their authority over an inexperienced Indian team. Gubby Allen and Hedly verity single-handedly demolished the English batting sharing nine wickets among each other.

Eventually, the visiting team lost the three-match series 2-0 following one of the lowest totals in Test cricket.